Brandon edges Gulfport 2-0 in OT to clinch MHSAA 6A South State title

BRANDON — For the second time in the last three seasons, Brandon is headed back to the 6A state championship game.

But to get there, they needed some extra time Tuesday night.

Behind a late-blooming offensive attack and some key saves by goalkeeper Cameron Kent, the Bulldogs got past Gulfport 2-0 in overtime to claim the MHSAA Boys Class 6A South State Championship on a cold, raining Tuesday night.

Brandon (17-2-1) will face rival Clinton, which defeated Starkville 3-0 Tuesday, for the MHSAA Class 6A State Championship on Saturday night at 6 p.m. at Ridgeland.

“We’re too anxious with the ball and kept making too many extra passes and missed some opportunitie," Brandon coach Randy West said. "When we finally scored in overtime, that gave us some relief. I think we outplayed them, but Gulfport is a really good team and well coached. Fortunately, we found a way.”

Brandon held possession of the ball the overwhelming majority of the match, and out shot Gulfport 7-1 in shots on goal in regulation.

The Bulldogs finally broke the 0-0 tie three minutes into the first 10-minute overtime period, as Nygel Jobe broke through two defenders and scored to give Brandon a 1-0 lead.

“When knew coming in it would be tough to score on them because they have a really good keeper and we finally broke them down going side to side and got that one-on-one chance and scored,” Jobe said. “Defense was lights out and did good job of keeping them out wide. Clinton is the team we knew would be there, and this is where we want to be. We want a gold ball.”

Gulfport had two really good chances to tie the game off a free kick and a corner, but Kent was able to make saves on both.

Brandon scored their final goal on a penalty kick by Jeison Ramos after a foul in the box with three minutes left in the second 10-minute overtime period.

“Luckily they played the ball wide on the corner and our keeper was able to make a couple key stops," West said. "I think we played better after we scored. Clinton is a really good team, and this season was the first time in 25 years we didn’t play in the regular season, so now we get them at the end.”

The Admirals finished season 14-8-2.

“It was good free kick, but when the ball was loose you got to get the ball in the back of the net and we didn’t, so it was a tough one for us,” said Gulfport coach Donevin Esterhuizen. “It was a good run for our boys, doing what we were supposed to do, and unfortunately it didn’t go our way tonight.”